Measured in Moments
by Daelena
Summary: A series of moments that encapsulate the evolving relationship between Jemma Simmons and Antoine Triplett. AU (presumed) from the end of Season 1.
1. Moments of Love

Measured in Moments

_Disclaimer__: I don't own anything. I am merely playing in this sandbox for the time being._

_This popped into my head and wouldn't leave until I put it down. My sincerest apologies if any character seems OOC. I did not intend for that to happen._

_Please enjoy this foray into Agents of SHIELD (and the broader MCU). _

1.

The first time he held her, it was after Fury had pulled Fitz and her from the sea.

Fitz was a hair's breadth from death and Simmons had the barest of control over her emotions. The rest of the team danced on egg shells with the issue, careful not to push her too far, not when they had an uphill battle to fight. The good of the world depended on everyone keeping a fighting focus. She knew it. They all did. But it was only a matter of time before everything came spilling out.

Triplett couldn't bear to see her struggle through her emotions, not when her thoughts were clouded with concern for her brother-by-choice. She was barely staying afloat and he didn't know how she managed to keep a smile on her face when Fitz's fate was still up in the air.

She had collapsed into his arms and sobbed – sobbed and gasped out everything that had been welling up inside. When the tears were dried, he carried her to her bed, tucked her in, and sat with her that night.

In the morning, she made tea and he made cereal and that was, as they say, that.

2.

A knitted scarf appeared on his bed, precisely one week later. It was royal blue and bronze and handmade.

There was no note, but Trip could guess who it came from. The neat little way that it was coiled on his pillow was a clear-enough clue for that. He stared at it for a full minute before picking it up, relishing in the softness of the wool. Searching his memory, Trip tried to recall if he ever told her what his favorite colors were, but he had to chalk it up to Simmons being a super genius and simply knowing.

Later, as they gathered for dinner in the communal kitchen of the Playground, he slipped next to her. When no one was looking, pressed a light, chaste kiss to her cheek in thanks.

Simmons flushed and smiled a little at him.

3.

Every afternoon, there was tea for her at precisely half past three.

It usually arrived in a large thermos. Depending on the kind of day it was, the type of tea in the thermos varied. Most of the time, Trip brought it, though, when he was away on missions, May was the one who delivered it.

At first, there were three cups that came with the tea delivery – one for her, one for him, and one that they left empty for Fitz. Later, they added a fourth for May, then two more for Coulson and Skye respectively, and a last one for Koenig, not long after. Eventually, the entire team and multiple thermos arrived at exactly three thirty every afternoon.

No one said anything about this development, but then, no one had to.

4.

The first Thanksgiving after the fall of SHIELD, Simmons decided that they needed to celebrate and Trip didn't disagree.

They stayed up all night, baking, prepping food, and decorating for the day of. When the rest of the team came stumbling into the kitchen, in search of breakfast and the all-important first coffee of the day, pies were waiting for them on the counter and the turkey was in the fridge and waiting to be roasted. The rest of the side dishes were in various states of completion. Streamers were dangling over the set table.

Simmons and Trip were fast asleep on the floor, covered in flour and leaning on one another.

Skye thought it was cute and got a picture. Coulson did his best to rouse them (both needed showers and a few hours in their own beds). May simply took over on the rest of the cooking, assisted by Koenig, who was a surprisingly good cook, as they had found out over the last months.

At dinner, they sat next to each other and traded holiday horror stories with the rest of the team. And sometime during dessert, Simmons slipped her hand into his, under the table, and squeezed lightly.

Their hands stand clasped for the rest of the night.

5.

The first of December that year brought news to the team.

According to Hill, Fitz was almost completely recovered and, as soon as he was cleared, he would be joining them at the Playground. That in mind, she did warn them that his short term memory was hit or miss and there were lapse, when he would zone out and be somewhere else. He would never be able to do field work again and a slight speech impediment would haunt him for the rest of life, even with the best therapies. With all that in mind, it was the belief of the doctors working on him that being with his team would be good for him.

Trip felt his heart surge with joy, seeing the smile that had crossed Simmons' face. He knew that she harbored a mountain of regret for Fitz's state, but he was offering counseling, where he could.

Fitz was coming home to them.

6.

Christmas was spent decorating and getting ready for Fitz's return, on top of their usual assignments on rebuilding SHIELD.

Simmons had a certain lightness to her step again and had taken to humming Christmas carols, when she thought that no one was listening. Trip certainly didn't stop her, when he walked into the lab as she was hanging garland around.

She was almost embarrassed, when she had turned around to find him standing there. But he had started to sing along and helped her decorate.

Fitz arrived on December 23rd, Hill close by, a careful monitor to the recovering agent.

Simmons was the first out to greet him. He recognized her almost straight away, wrapping his arms around her. The rest of the team soon followed, greeting him in their own way – Skye with a hug, Coulson with a handshake, and May with a gentle pat on the back.

Trip was tempted to hang back with Koenig, but Fitz didn't have any of it, offering a fist for a fist bump. The two shared a smile and Trip put a hand over Fitz's fist, a deliberate repeat of an earlier action from the Scotsman. It took a few seconds for it to sink in, but Fitz laughed and they were all relieved.

7.

The week leading up to New Year's was spent in quiet reflection.

Simmons had spent much of the time since Fitz's return acquainting him with their new digs. Skye was an almost constant companion in the lab, dutifully watching their returned teammate. Tea time was still sacred though and there was a sense of completion with Fitz's presence.

It was true that Fitz wasn't quite the same. The old working relationship of FitzSimmons was stilted and took time to get rolling. They were able to get the same place, though by different thought processes now. If it bothered Simmons, she didn't let it show. Besides, with Skye there, the old ways of FitzSimmons no longer applied anyway and it was the hacker who provided the catalyst for the new working rhythm of the lab.

And, when the old year gave over to the new one, Jemma was the one who pressed a kiss, sweet and chaste, onto his lips.

Antoine was the one who initiated the second kiss.

8.

It was Valentine's Day when they made love for the first time.

Jemma had been worried that Fitz wouldn't take this new development between Antoine and herself very well. She had eased into that particular discussion a few times with Fitz before it sunk in. Well, that and Antoine made a point of spending time with the recovering Scotsman, both in the lab and outside of it. Whatever issues Fitz might have had with the other agent weren't there anymore and he didn't seem fazed when the proximity of the two.

Antoine was determined that Jemma would never forget their first time and, it seemed, she was of a similar mind for him.

He enjoyed learning her body and her response and she was the consummate scientist, determined to have a proper sampling of everything. Even though he was trained as a field medic, she was the one with the medical degree and he was pleasantly surprised about what that brought to the bedroom.

Later, as they basked in the afterglow, tangled up in one another, she offered her heart and her confessions of love. He returned that confession with a kiss and a quiet "I love you"

9.

They could not always be safe in the Playground.

He was a field operative, first and foremost. Coulson needed him and Skye in the field, dealing with a Hydra-related issue and neither one wanted to let their new Director down.

Jemma didn't directly talk about the issue, but Antoine woke up, the morning that he and Skye were set to go out, to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, something in her hand. He shifted and molded around her, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Take this with you," she asked, dropping a chain into hand. He looked at in and realized that there was a pair of worn bands attached to the chain. "They belonged to my grandparents. They'll keep you safe."

And, when he and Skye took off for their mission, Antoine tucked the necklace underneath the collar of his shirt.

10.

Skye flew them back. She had to.

He was barely conscious and bleeding through the bandages that Skye had tied around his injuries. From the back of the Jump Jet, he heard her radioing in, her voice frantic and worried. Antoine didn't remember anything else of the return trip.

The next thing he did remember was waking up to find Jemma hovering over him, checking his vitals. The worry was as clear as day in her eyes.

He caught her hand and smiled, saying quietly, "They did keep me safe."

11.

No one quite forget finding out that Fitz and Skye were together. Antoine and Jemma certainly wouldn't.

She was helping him into the lab for tea time and they apparently caught the two quite by surprise. Fitz was flustered and had a lapse in speech sputtering immensely. Skye was bright red, as she hurried to fix her shirt.

Antoine was quick to joke about certain incentives must have been the reason that Fitz's mental lapses were fewer and far between of late. The man in question didn't say anything and just went to his corner, Skye following after with two mugs of tea in hand. In retrospect, since his return, it was Skye who was able to connect with Fitz better when he regressed or lapsed and she could coax him out with simply a smile or a word.

In the dark of the night, as he held her tight, Jemma confessed that she thought that they were good together – far better than she and Fitz could possibly be. They were still FitzSimmons, but whatever romance might have happened had been aborted long ago.

12.

Antoine moved into Jemma's quarters the day after she took out his stitches. The decision hinged upon the fact that her quarters were slightly bigger, had more closet space, and was further away from the quarters of the rest of the team.

Plus, most of his books were already there anyway.

13.

The Playground might have been their unofficial new headquarters after Coulson was appointed the new Director of SHIELD, but it became the functional new headquarters when SHIELD operations got up and running full time.

Most governments still considered SHIELD to be an organization of ill-repute and should not be trusted whatsoever. Hill had managed to downgrade them to that from terrorist organization, when she had presented Congress with concrete evidence that Hydra was the real threat here. No one wanted to have dealings with either organization and both were treated with extreme prejudice.

Jemma was mostly concerned with the fact that her parents probably believed that she was a terrorist. Antoine didn't know how to fix that.

14.

Melinda May and Phil Coulson tied the knot a little over a year after they arrived at the Playground.

It was a quiet ceremony, with only the smallest of parties afterwards. Since Skye was still building their identities back up from scratch, there was minimal paperwork involved – a relief for all. Hill and Fury made it in, along with a few other members of SHIELD.

Jemma made the cake. Skye provided the music. Fitz built drones that simulated a light show. Antoine took the pictures.

He wasn't going to forget Steve Rogers showing up and the look that Captain American had gotten when he realized that Coulson was alive.

15.

Hydra attacked the Playground.

They managed to evacuate in time, salvaging as much as they could. No one was critically injured during the process.

In the Jump Jet, as they flew away, Antoine and Jemma sat in silence.

16.

They ended up setting up camp in New York, much to everyone's surprise.

Tony Stark was many things and, apparently, more than ready to defy the United States government. He also was very happy to see that Coulson was alive. He had an entire facility prepared, officially built in the name of Stark Industries, but really there for the sole purpose of being the new base of operations for SHIELD.

Jemma was quite pleased with the new labs. At Hill's insistence, she, Fitz, and Sky shared the largest one.

Stark, Dr. Banner, and Dr. Foster were regular visitors.

17.

Life began to settle back into its usual crazy routine.

Antoine went on assignments and Jemma was busy in the lab. The new SHIELD still had a lot of work that needed to be done on it and Hydra wasn't going away any time soon. The rest of the Avengers were in and out of their new headquarters, initially to confirm that Coulson was, in fact alive, but later because SHIELD needed their help.

The moment Antoine met Sam Wilson and Clint Barton, Jemma and Natasha decided that the three should never be allowed to team up on prank wars. Ever.

18.

Jemma was in the field when she was grievously wounded. She saved the day and, in the resulting fireworks, a Hyrda agent managed to get a knife into her gut.

As she lay in recovery from surgery, Antoine slipped a worn band off the chain he still wore around his neck and slid it onto her finger. Hours later, she returned the favor and slid the matching band onto his finger.

19.

Officially, their wedding took place as soon as Jemma was fully recovered from her injury. It was on the quiet side – the team, all of the Avengers who were in town, Hill, Fury, and the other assorted attaches to the Avengers.

Darcy had insisted that Jemma get pampered prior to the wedding. Jemma would have argued the point, but there was no fighting Darcy Lewis, when she put her mind to something. That same logic got Jemma, Skye, Darcy, Pepper, Maria, and Jane piss-ass drunk during the bachelorette party. Melinda (only the team was allowed to call her that) escaped by virtue of the fact that she was the designated walker. Natasha, however, had the camera, the phone, and the keys to the Bus, so no one argued with her about how much she was or was not drinking.

Antoine, on the other hand, was in no place to fly the Jump Jet – which meant that it was a good thing that Stark got a limo for them. That being said, the employees at a particular 24-hour diner in Jersey were particularly surprised, at four o'clock in the morning, to see Tony, Steve, Clint, Sam, Bruce, Antoine, Coulson, Fitz, and Thor show up in varying levels of drunkenness. Coulson and Fitz were the (fairly) sober ones of the bunch and, as such, had the dubious honors of picking up the tab.

Fury showed up halfway through their greasy waffles and sandwiches and no one questioned it when he pulled out a flask and passed it around.

Jemma and Antoine kept it together through their wedding and managed to make it through the important parts of the reception before ducking out. It wasn't for any reason that the guests insinuated.

Both were massively hungover and wanted nothing more than to sleep it off before taking full advantage of an uninterrupted weekend together on Cape Cod.

20.

Unofficially, they were married almost as soon as Jemma could stand up.

Fury officiated. The team stood as their witnesses. She wore a simple white dress purchased on her behalf by Skye and he managed slacks, a button down, and a tie. The ceremony wasn't grand or lavish or anything like that.

It was quiet and simple, just an exchange of vows and a promise to love, cherish, and protect one another.

They wore her grandparents' rings still, though Melinda May had gotten her hands on them and ensured that the rings were resized appropriately. When he carried her into their quarters, it wasn't for any tradition or superstition. It was because she was still in a lot of pain. Instead of cans on the back of a car, Fitz and Skye had decorated their room with strings of lights and fresh flowers and made sure that silly music was playing as soon as the door opened.

And that was good enough for them.

_I hope you all enjoyed this. Please review and let me know what you thought!_


	2. Seasons by Moments

Seasons by Moments

_So, I've thought that it might be fun to expand upon the idea of showing the Trip/Simmons relationship through vignettes and drabbles about the "moments." It could be a lot of fun to see what evolves, as a result._

_Obviously, this whole thing is going to be AU from the end of season 1, but I wanted to see what came. As a result, I'll be added new things, as I come up with them. The stories might not follow chronologically, but it will still be Trip and Simmons and their cuteness. As new AoS episodes and MCU films come out, I will do my best to incorporate canon as much as possible, while still keeping with what I have already__**. **_

_**Timeline:**__** This vignette starts immediately following the team's arrival at the Playground.**_

_Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this!_

_Spring_

A pot of daffodils appeared in the lab, completely unannounced. The cheerful flowers brightened up the otherwise relatively monochromatic color scheme of the large room. Around the pot was a bright blue ribbon, tied neatly in a bow. It was a gift, for all residents (and visitors) of the lab to cherish and enjoy. She didn't know how he managed to find them, but daffodils are one of her favorite flowers and, in light of everything that's happened, she needed something bright to make her feel better.

And the flowers had made Jemma smile, when she came back in, following a rather long and tiring meeting with Coulson on the tasks he needed her to complete in order to get them all back into fighting shape. She didn't say anything about them, but there was always fresh flowers in the lab after that.

Time later, a small radio found its way into his work-out bag. It would have gone unremarked, save for the note attached carrying instructions. When he followed those instructions, he found that he could now tune into any and all of the baseball games that he wanted. That was a pleasant surprise. Listening to ball games was one of the few regular luxuries that he had and, even though they were pretty cut off from the rest of the world and considered terrorists, it was nice to know he could still listen to baseball.

It became a common sight to see Antoine listening to ball games as he worked out. He'd pick the teams, depending on who was around, but, when left to his own devices, he tended to stick to the Red Sox or the O's.

_Summer_

Air conditioning was a gift to the entire team. That being said, there were a couple of times when the generator got knocked out, simply because of all the strain on it from suddenly having a plethora of people using the facility, rather than the minimal staff it had previously. No one was particularly happy when the AC was on the fritz – least of all Jemma.

By virtue of her work, the lab managed to stay relatively cool during most of the work hours. She needed That being said, it was darn near unpleasant as soon as she was outside of the lab.

Koenig was at a full loss on how to remedy the situation. Without Fitz there, they were going to have to do the best that they could.

Coulson and May were relatively unaffected by the varying levels of heat. Skye was permanently in a tank top and was talking of getting a haircut. Antoine handled the situation like a pro, though he took to spending a lot of time with Jemma in the lab, relishing in the fact that her work as the primary life sciences expert of the team, did require cooler temperature so, when the rest of the Playground lost AC, she, at the very least, had the benefit having the remaining cool air directed into her work space.

Jemma, however, found that, outside of the lab, she was absolutely miserable.

She couldn't sleep because of the heat and, even wearing shorts and a tank top or a dress, she was bloody uncomfortable. Honestly, she didn't know how people in far warmer climates than the Playground handled it.

Antoine makes sure that there are always freezy pops on hand. The whole team was grateful. He just made sure to hide all of the green ones.

They're Jemma's favorites

_Autumn_

Now that the initial shock wave of the veritable civil war between SHIELD and Hydra had settled, their work was cut out for them.

Coulson had made contact with other SHIELD cells and they were working on rebuilding. It was a long task and not an easy one at that. The entire team still didn't officially exist, in pretty much any sense of the word, though Skye had started to rebuild their identities. By now, she had gotten them working fake identities that they could use, when out in the field – and Coulson was sending them out, usually in ones or twos – to work with assembled SHIELD and US government teams, to retrieve information, and to be his eyes and ears on the workings of Hydra.

It was plain to all of them that he considered the rest of the team (Koenig included) his brain trust, so to speak. As the new Director, he needed the people he knew he could trust beyond a shadow of a doubt. Outside of those currently at the Playground, there was only a small list of people that fit that particular bill.

When the weather turned cold enough, Antoine always packed his blue-and-bronze scarf in his kit. He would go to the mat in defense of the item. The scarf kept him warm (a fact he was grateful, as October turned towards November) and she always gave him the brightest of smiles when she saw him wearing it.

Jemma found a few gallons of apple cider in the fridge after he got back from a routine mission and immediately broke it out. The rest of the team was drawn to the smell of warm cider and cinnamon floating from the kitchen and, in a rare break from tradition, substituted cider for tea.

_Winter_

The first big snowfall of the year buried the team and the Playground in a veritable winter wonderland.

By a stroke of sheer luck, they were all back from missions and Coulson didn't need anyone to go out for a few days yet. They had gotten the good news about Fitz two days prior and this was one more sign that things were turning in their favor.

Skye got the entire team outside, as the snow had finished falling. She was adamant that they go out into the snow and, after a while, they relented. Bundled up, they trooped outside and, when the first snowball hit Coulson squarely between the shoulders courtesy of May, all of the troubles that they were facing didn't seem to matter anymore.

The intense snow battle had all of them laughing like kids and playing as if they didn't have the weight of the world on their shoulders. It did them all good to have the chance to simply play, simply go outside and be a team, instead of the ones who had to rebuild SHIELD.

Jemma managed to sneak up behind Antoine and dump a handful of snow down the back of his jacket. His yelp of surprise made her laugh hysterically. Seconds later, he had twisted, grabbed her, and they fell into the nearest snow bank, giggling like a pair of schoolchildren. Her hat was knocked askew and his gloves were very wet from the snow that he rubbed into her hair, causing Jemma to shriek at the sudden coldness against her head.

Later, once the cold had finally caught up to them and they were sodden down from the wetness of the snow, the team piled back into the Playground. No one particularly said anything, but everyone went to change into warm clothes and, fifteen minutes later, arrived in the kitchen, wearing sweaters, slippers, and pajamas. Koenig put hot chocolate and tea on for them and heated up some leftover stew from the night before.

Antoine's sweatshirt was particularly big on Jemma, but he had leant it to her a few weeks prior and she liked it, so he wasn't going to be getting it back from him anytime soon. Antoine didn't particularly care. It looked better on her than it ever did on him.

_I hope that you all enjoyed this new vignette. Please tell me what you all think of new vignette. I really want to know what you think about more of these Trip/Simmons "moments." _


	3. Moments Caught by the Weather

Moments Caught by the Weather

_3/? of the "Moments" series._

_Timeline__ – starts at the Playground and ends at the (fictional and new) SHIELD facility in New York (that was built for them by Tony Stark). _

**_Sun_**

It was late February and a rare late winter warm day, the first that they had had in months.

When Jemma looked outside that morning to see sunshine and a cloudless sky, a sense of giddiness filled her. Antoine came walking into the kitchen a little while later, she had a thermos of coffee (both needed it, first thing in the morning) and breakfast sandwiches wrapped in napkins. He arched an eyebrow her in question. Five minutes later, Coulson knew they were going for a walk and they were out for a morning hike.

Neither one was particularly inclined to speak at first. They were content to enjoy the nice weather and eat their breakfast. When they had stuffed the used napkins into their pockets, Antoine poured coffee into the cup and they passed it between them, drinking deeply.

There were still mounds of snow around and would be for a few weeks yet. The Playground, classified location as it was, was in the part of the country where snow stuck around into March. Jemma didn't mind that so much. She enjoyed it, in fact.

They reached a bluff overlooking a lake and stopped.

Antoine slipped an arm around her shoulders. Jemma looked over at him. He gave her a smile and bent down to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Morning, Jems."

She returned his smile. "Morning, Antoine."

**_Rain_**

Coulson had sent them out on an assignment to be his liaisons with a covert US military team to go into a Hyrda-affiliate base to retrieve one of the 0-8-4s released from the Fridge. Both were required because the item in question had dastardly effects on the people surrounding it, when it was active.

They got the 0-8-4 and got it into a containment field for transport back to the joint SHIELD-US containment facility (or the Mini-Fridge, as Skye had taken to calling it). Now that the United States government had realized that not all members of SHIELD were part of Hydra or terrorists, they had opened up extremely tentative dialogue with the active (and highly vetted) members of SHIELD who were still operating under the auspices of the organization. There were far fewer of them than before, but they were, at the very least, not treated like active threats to the safety of the planet.

Still, with that in mind, both Antoine and Jemma went out on this assignment with the greatest of caution.

Once the 0-8-4 was in transit to the Mini-Fridge, they were escorted to their safe house. Or, rather, Antoine and Jemma were allowed the illusion that they were going to said safe house without any escorts – and really had a dozen plain FBI agents clothes watching them at various points along the route. (Said agents were painfully obvious, given that both SHIELD agents knew what to look for.)

Though, neither was particularly interested their observers when the weather took a turn for the wet and a sudden torrential downpour had them dashing for the safe house. It was just their luck, since they had forgotten the umbrella.

Their escorts kept at an almost respectful distance, once they were secure in the safe house, soaking wet and laughing at their misfortune.

"We should offer them tea," Jemma said, once she had fished out towels from to dry themselves with. "After all, we weren't the only ones caught up in that storm."

Antoine grinned. "Yeah, we should," he answered, taking an offered towel, "but something tells me that they've already got that taken care of." He gave her a grin and wrapped an arm around her. "Besides, that would also require us to be presentable and we both need to get cleaned up from this mission."

She laughed cheerfully. "Presentable, hm?" Jemma teased "And what would be more presentable than the sodden clothes they escorted us here in?"

"Clean and dry ones," he answered, bending down to press a kiss to her lips. "The ones that we're going to wear _after _we've had some time to relax and such."

Jemma's grin was bold and hinted at so much. "I like the 'and such' part."

"Me too."

**_Wind_**

May's flying abilities were second to none, especially when the Bus was involved.

That being said, Jemma was having a hard time holding onto her lunch as they flew back after their latest mission. They were catching the tail end of a hurricane that was kicking up a lot of winds and turbulence along the East Coast, especially around New York.

Melinda had escorted Jemma, Fitz, and Skye back to the Hub – or what used to be the Hub, after the United States government had taken it over. As the scientific and technological minds of Coulson's team, the three of them were required to decipher and parse out what knowledge was housed at the Hub.

On the surface, it appeared to be a perfectly peaceful arrangement and a way to build good faith between the new SHIELD and the United States. At least, that's what the head of the Congressional sub-committee handling the official relations between the US and SHIELD had told them.

What it _really _ended up being was two weeks of instructions and heavy-handed rearrangement of information. Coulson had ordered them to be as open and honest as possible with what remained at the Hub. It had been hard for the man to let most of his immediate team go into the Hub without backup, but it had been the specific request of the aforementioned sub-committee that Coulson send the people who would understand what was in the Hub computers to be the SHIELD representatives.

All opinions agreed that they wanted to see what the unofficial brain trust of the new SHIELD looked liked – which meant that the famous (or infamous) Melinda May showing up as the lead SHIELD agent was a surprise and a not-so-subtle threat. Coulson knew the impact his wife could have.

"We're coming in for a landing in New York," Melinda announced over the intercom.

"Finally," Skye breathed, her hand clamped firmly in Fitz, who had spent most of the turbulence-ridden trip with his eyes closed and parked between Jemma and Skye, crushing both of their hands in turn.

When they finally did land, safe home in the SPA (officially, the Stark Protected Arena; unofficially, the new headquarters for SHIELD), Jemma had never been happier to get off the Bus.

Fitz and Skye had wrapped her up into a shared hug of relief at their safe arrival before Skye pulled Fitz in for a kiss. Moments later, Fitz was leading Skye towards their quarters on the bus. (The whole team maintained personal spaces on the craft, just out of necessity.) With a smile, she left them to their own devices and made her way off of the Bus, falling in line with Melinda as neared the back of the Bus.

Coulson and Antoine were waiting for them, though not for any reasons of debriefing. That would happen in a few hours. Most of the paperwork had been sent through before they had even left the Hub, so everything else was just a mere formality.

Melinda and Coulson had a quiet reunion, though warm nonetheless. Jemma saw the pride shining in her boss' eyes as he congratulated Melinda on her superb flying skills in the face of adverse conditions. The pilot in question smirked and kissed her husband on the cheek.

And Jemma smiled at Antoine, who cupped her face and kissed her deeply.

"Welcome home," he said – and it was!

_Short and sweet. Again, more fluff, but I hope that you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you thought._

_And, if you think I should continue (and if the Muse is kind), I will get something up for your continued enjoyment. _


	4. Momentous Pranking

Momentous Pranking

_Disclaimer__: Clearly, I don't own anything. I'm having fun and playing in this sandbox._

_Who doesn't love a good prank? And a series of pranks? I mean, what kind of team would Coulson's team be if they didn't prank one another from time to time?  
_

_Also, I just love the idea that Antoine and Jemma are two epic pranksters who should never be allowed to team up with one another. There's something so strange and so right about them being devious and playful and going full out of their way to prank everyone (including each other). _

_**Author's Note 1: **__The SPA is the headquarters that Tony Stark built specifically to be the new SHIELD headquarters. _

_**Author's Note 2:**__ A hack is basically a large-scale MIT prank. It usually involves things (vehicles, TARDISes, Daleks, etc.) being put on the top of buildings, stuff happening in the Infinite Corridor, or windows being lit up/being used to play Tetris._

_Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this!_

1.

It was a well-known fact that Antoine Triplett could prank with the best of them. At least, it was a well-known fact among the Specialists of his graduating class from the Academy.

Coulson's team, not so much.

Jemma figured that bit out fairly quickly though. She had been the receptor of what went down as a pretty epic pie to the face one boring afternoon when they were all stuck at the Playground. The whip cream had _originally _been drawn in the shape of the UK flag and the colors had transferred over relatively well enough.

That being said, being caught by surprised by a pie to the face when opening up a supply cabinet in the kitchen was a shocker – and, in retrospect, a much needed stress-reliever.

Antoine wouldn't admit it, but the warpath that Jemma went on was intensely attractive. It was made even better by the fact that she had not even bothered to get completely cleaned up before starting the crack-down on retribution.

2.

Jemma Simmons could not lie to save her life. It was a character flaw and it was very much what it was. She was a genius and a highly-respected professional in her field. Her medical skills were second to none and Phil Coulson counted his lucky stars daily for having her on his side.

With that in mind, no one could imagine just how devious one woman could be, when she put her mind to it.

Absolutely no one knew precisely how they ended up with regularly short-sheeted beds or incredibly long-lasting temporary tattoos that appeared with no warning. The amount of security at the Playground was ridiculous and, because of that, it was nearly impossible to get away with the former on a regular occurrence or the appearance of the latter without tripping any number of surveillance around the facility.

Antoine, in particular, found himself the subject to a full and complete spectrum of very adorable temporary tattoos (a lot of _My Little Pony_ and cute animals and a few Doctor Who) all over his torso and arms. He wasn't quite sure how to combat that.

3.

The team didn't think it could get worse.

It did.

Antoine and Jemma decided to team up and everything went to hell in the proverbial handbasket.

No one was safe, not even the great Melinda May. Oh, she didn't get it nearly as bad as Skye, Coulson, or Koenig did, but she certainly got her fair share of pranking. It was just far more creative – and devious – than what the others got.

She wouldn't tell anyone one, but turnabout was fair play.

After all, she knew that Jemma would figure out who was behind the shaving cream incident with Fitz all those months before. Melinda just knew that revenge was a long term thing and that it was best served cold – very cold.

4.

Fitz wasn't necessarily a target for pranking upon his immediate return to the team. Hill, however, was.

No one would own up to it, but Jemma felt a little bit of pride, when Agent Maria Hill found the hits of a certain Canadian pop singer programmed into all of her ringtones. The best part was that there was absolutely zero evidence pointing in her direction.

That was the greatest aspect of having a partner-in-crime when it came to pranking. Plausible deniability!

Besides, it couldn't hurt of Hill had something for Tony Stark to rib on her for, during her initial time with Stark's company. Robin Sparkle's songs were very catchy and it would be a shame for them to be hidden away.

5.

The moment that Skye and Fitz teamed up to prank back was something of a dangerous moment.

They had the DWARF drones. Skye was an expert hacker and Fitz was still a veritable genius. The pair complimented each other in ways that Fitz and Simmons never could. It could have ended with the utter humiliation of Antoine and Jemma.

Instead, the stakes just got upped.

Coulson and Melinda wisely stayed out of the line of fire as best they could (though usually not with complete success because their team could get so bored and so creative). Koenig pretended not to pay attention, but it was abundantly clear that he toggled between annoyance and amusement at the rivaling pranking antics.

6.

Once they arrived at the brand new SPA facilities and, given who was behind the funding and building of said facilities, it was no surprise when Tony Stark made his presence known.

The two warring factions teamed up for the most epic of all pranks on the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist. After all, they couldn't let their host go without knowing that his efforts were much appreciated. Their reputations were very much on the line and all four agreed that they could not, with any good conscious or honor, let the opportunity go by unremarked or any of that nonsense.

No one realized it, but the appearance of an Iron Man suit duded up with the Union Jack with absolutely no video surveillance to indicate the culprits and the paint cans in question in the possession of Tony Stark's own robots went in the record books as one of the best pranks on Tony Stark. Ever.

Little did they know, Tony Stark enjoyed a good prank. After all, the man had graduated from MIT and that veritable institution was known for its clever hacks.

7.

All photographic and video evidence of the Capture-the-Flag game between the team's drones and Tony Stark's robots have been preserved for posterity's sake.

If nothing else, it was good to know that Tony was just as competitive as the team was. Maybe it wasn't a full-on prank, but it was fun as hell to go at it with the Science Bros (though Jane was trying to get them to change the name to the Science Alliance since she was, in fact, not a man).

8.

One of the great team-up pranks actually revolved around Coulson's birthday.

Phil Coulson would have been perfectly happy to have his birthday go unremarked, given the relatively dire standing that SHIELD had at the moment. His team (along with multiple members of the Avengers) thought otherwise.

No one told the man, but it was generally agreed that they were going to prank the hell out of Phil Coulson on his birthday. They didn't even try to be subtle or go grand. They were just going to do the fun, if juvenile, pranks that would keep him on his toes throughout the day.

And, if they had a massive surprise party at the end of the day, Coulson would not disapprove.

9.

In light of the escalation of pranks that had happened upon arrival at the SPA, Jemma Simmons was not expecting to get a whip cream pie in the face, when she walked into the bathroom.

It wasn't the UK flag this time. It was the USA flag.

Her sputtering turned to full-fledge laughing when she turned around and saw her husband bent over double, laughing his butt off at her shocked face. She might have gotten angry but that would have defeated the purpose of revenge. Instead, she grabbed Antoine Tripplett, pulled him in for a kiss, and made a very deliberate point of getting the whip cream all over him.

Maybe they missed dinner and the team movie night, but no one was going to comment on that, when the two were not very subtle about disposing of the remnants of the prank the next morning. Besides, whip cream was a very fun thing to clean up, when one's spouse is involved and the thing that you are cleaning up is edible.

Jemma filed whip cream away in her mental file of _Antoine and Jemma's Special Things_ for future reference. Antoine was doing the same.

_Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this. Please review and let me know what you thought about this new chapter!_


	5. Love's Captured Moments

Love's Captured Moments

_Disclaimer__: Yeah, still don't own anything. I'm just playing in this sandbox. _

_So, I just finished watching the season two premiere of Agents of SHIELD. Suffice to say, I'm on the nopes-train to screw-that-ville. Also, thank goodness for fanfiction or else I would probably be emotionally compromised. Though, to be fair, B. J. Britt in a uniform is completely drool-worthy and the character of Antoine Triplett is a complete ray of sunshine. _

_Also, I think it's pretty evident by now that this Moments series is pretty much AU, diverging from canon at the end of season 1. Oh well. Who knows, it might come more in line with canon, if the show decides to go the same (or similar) route as this._

1.

Antoine loves to wake up next to Jemma and truly enjoy having a quiet morning with his wife, when the evils of the world and SHIELD don't matter. Those are the moments when they get to act like just another ordinary couple who love waking up next to one another. The intense pressures that they get put under on a regular basis don't matter anymore and, for a little while, they don't have to think about what might get thrown at them next.

Long, lazy mornings of sweet kisses and gentle love-making are so rare and far-between that, for Jemma Simmons and Antoine Triplett, they might as well be mythical creatures.

That being said, when the bluest of moons happen, both are more than happy to jump on the opportunity because, usually, they're rolling out of bed at an ungodly hour or after too-few hours of sleep. The odd morning when neither (or both) isn't the case is a complete godsend – and both know for sure that they aren't the only ones who appreciate such things.

Contrary to popular belief, Jemma usually doesn't wake up easily. She's slow to get started most mornings, which is fine, since Antoine's the polar opposite after years of being a Specialist. Most of the time, he's up and in the shower before Jemma even drags herself out of bed. Usually, he finds her brushing her teeth and combing out her hair (sometimes at the same time, if they're in a rush), by the time he's out of the shower.

But, on those rare quiet mornings, it's a different story entirely.

Jemma is ticklish, but only in a few, very specific places. Antoine made a point, early in their relationship, of figuring out where those places were precisely. When used accurately, he could be certain to have a pillow lobbed at his head and Jemma's breathless laughing as she tried to twist away from him. To be fair though, she also knew where he was ticklish and was more than happy to get her revenge.

And, nine times out of ten, things would escalate from there, resulting in them laughing whole-heartedly and loving each other with every fiber of their beings.

2.

By now, Jemma could read Antoine as easily as she could read a book or any of the results from her experiments and projects.

When he got a phone call on a secure line from one of SHIELD's assets shortly before he was supposed to go out on a mission with Melinda and Skye, she knew that something was wrong. She could see the sadness in his smile and knew that it was serious, if he wouldn't quite meet her gaze.

The mission took precedence, of course. It always did. They both knew that.

But Jemma made a specific point of gearing Antoine up that day. "Tell me, when you're ready," she said, quietly, reaching up on her toes to press a kiss to her cheek and offering a gentle smile.

"Thanks," he said, plainly. When she made to move away, Antoine caught her with a hand around her waist, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Be safe, Jemma."

"You stay safe, Antoine. You're the one in the field."

His kiss was the only answer she needed.

Later, hours and a successfully-completed dangerous mission later, Jemma found out.

Antoine's mother had breast cancer. The doctors had caught the tumors early enough to operate and there was a high likelihood that she would be perfectly fine, but the news came as a blow to him. It was a testament to the heritage and legacy of the Howling Commandos that, even after the rebirth of HYDRA and the surviving SHIELD members being labeled personae non gratae, there was the concrete knowledge that legacies were always SHIELD. Similarly, by the network in place since World War II, Antoine was informed as soon as possible – and as soon as the line could be established to SHIELD headquarters.

When he told her, Jemma's only reaction was to wrap her husband up into a tight hug and let him bury his face into the crook of her neck. Antoine was hurting and needed her more than any science experiment or Coulson-appointed task did.

And, if he smiled, albeit weakly and very watery, when she offered to look into any treatment options that only a SHIELD-employed biochem doctor could provide, Jemma knew that he was grateful.

3.

Meals were sometimes a hairy thing to schedule, depending on the day. A lot of the time of late, people were left to fend for themselves. Even if tea time still had an element of sacred to it, every other meal was less so.

With tensions running high one particularly busy month, Jemma turned to one of the few things that was a guaranteed stress-reliever (that didn't involve anything intimate with Antoine) – working in the kitchen.

She was at a brick wall with her current assignments and desperately needed some space from the lab and its fellow occupants. Doing something in the kitchen, either cooking or baking, would be the best possible distraction right now.

Except, upon entering the kitchen, she found that she wasn't the only one who had that idea.

Antoine gave her a smile when she walked in, before turning back to retrieve supplies from the fridge. Jemma felt her mood improve exponentially at his presence.

Backing with Antoine usually meant that they both ended up covered in flour and eating most of the raw batter of whatever it was they were making. Cooking, on the other hand, was a serious matter for them both and was productive enough to keep them occupied, while actively giving them a break from whatever else was going on.

Judging by what was on the counter, Jemma figured today was a cooking day.

"What have we got on the menu today?" she asked, drawing alongside her husband.

He stood up and turned to her, two beers in one hand and a package of ground beef in the other. "Secret Triplett family chili," he replied, putting the ground beef onto the counter and offering one beer to her. "It's about time you learned how to make it."

Taking the offered beer and opening it, Jemma grinned. "Secret family chili, hm? What would they say about you sharing secrets with someone not born into the family, especially one they haven't met yet."

"Which is why you're learning this now," he said, opening his beer. "Besides, it'll give you a leg up, if we ever end up at a family reunion." Antoine gave her a pointed look. "Only Ma gets final say in who gets to learn."

What was unsaid was the most important thing.

Jemma lifted her beer in salute. "Shall we get started then, chili master?"

Antoine clinked his beer lightly against hers. "Of course, young grasshopper."

4.

Undercover missions that went south ranked among the worst kinds of missions that they had to face.

Jemma was a terrible liar and, as such, only went on undercover missions as a last resort. Antoine, on the other hand, was in the regular line-up for agents that Coulson sent undercover.

One particularly bad undercover assignment had him infiltrating the operations of an arms dealer who had gotten his hands on some errant SHIELD items that Garrett and his team had "liberated." Said mission hadn't gone particularly well, once the arms dealer in question realized that Antoine wasn't a HYDRA agent, nor was he as liberal in killing people as the dealer was. If judged by his ability to infiltrate the arms dealer's crew, the mission was an outstanding failure.

In order to resolve the situation, the mission ended up requiring a back-up team to come in to deal with the situation, a team that consisted of Melinda, Skye, and Jemma, with Jemma posing as the "certified expert" that could verify the items for the arms dealer, while Melinda and Skye tag-teamed to bust Antoine out.

Jemma couldn't lie to save her life, but she did have the ability to get far into character and, once in said character, it was harder to break her. That was a saving grace for this mission. She managed to buy Melinda and Skye time, though not enough to allow them to get back to her, after jail-breaking Antoine. The arms dealer figured out that something was up faster than that would allow.

They were mere moments away from Jemma being shot in the head, when the three managed to get the arms dealer into a stand-off situation. Only Jemma's steady gaze locked on him the whole time kept Antoine from completely losing his cool.

However, since things have a tendency of going wrong – and keep going wrong, the arms dealer used a weaponized version of one of the items from the Fridge to attempt to blow everything up. It ended up being a gloriously failed attempt on his part, resulting in the death of the arms dealer and part of the building collapsing into the shore of the lake on which said building had been built.

And Jemma and Antoine had the distinct misfortune of landing directly into the muddy bank of the lake, when the floor beneath them gave out.

None of that mattered, when the dust settled. Neither one particularly cared that they were muddy, covered in rubber, and had a hell of a post-mission cleanup ahead of them.

The two nearly collapsed into each other's arms, when they realized that they were alive. Once Antoine got steadiness back in his limbs, he cupped Jemma's face, rubbing circles on her skin with his thumbs, even as she had her hands on his hips.

"Thank God," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "You're alive!"

"You too," she whispered back, giving him a little smile.

_Well, that's that. Please review and let me know what you think of this new chapter!_

_If the Muses are kind, I'll be struck with more inspiration soon and have something fun for you all to read in this series. _


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